"sneeze" in seven languages
Meaningsneeze
Spanish
estornudo
/estoɾˈnudo/
masc.inherited
French
éternuement
/etɛʁnymɑ̃/
masc.inherited
Italian
starnuto
/starˈnuto/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
espirro
/isˈpihu/
masc.other source · Portuguese espirrar, of uncertain (probably expressive) origin
Romanian
strănut
/strəˈnut/
neut.inherited
Catalan
esternut
/əstərˈnut/
masc.inherited
English
sneeze
/sniz/
native English · Middle English snesen (Old English fnēosan)
English → ItaliansneezestarnutoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
STERNŪTĀRE‘to sneeze (repeatedly)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Each sister fronts STERN- its own way, a neat s-impura set: es-, é-, s-. Spanish and Italian built the noun from the participle (estornudo, starnuto), French from the verb éternuer.